Third Wheel
by Cotaku
Summary: Haru didn't understand. He was there first. He had been there longer. And now suddenly Urara shows up and Yuki gives him all of his attention? Haru didn't get it. And he didn't like it either.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hey guys! I randomly wrote the beginning of a Tsuritama fic when I didn't have power at home and ended up keeping with it for a short chapter! I don't usually write fanfictions very often so I hope it's not too terribly bad. But feel free to review if you'd like! Hopefully I keep on keeping with it to finish the story! I hope you guys enjoy!**

* * *

Their daily schedule had gone back to the way it had been before Haru had left Earth for his home planet with Urara and his younger sister, Coco. The only difference being that Natsuki and Akira were no longer around. Just Yuki, Urara, and Haru. Though, to Haru, it seemed more like Yuki, Urara, and the third wheel.

Yuki seemed to always fuss over the blue-haired alien; always making sure he was enjoying himself, making sure his tackle was in order when they went fishing, and making sure Haru wasn't being too rambunctious for him. In fact, it had happened on more than one occasion that Yuki had to resort to yelling at Haru, subconsciously slipping into French, scaring both of his companions.

Haru didn't get it. It took weeks for Yuki to warm up to him enough to even talk with him! But he seemed quite comfortable with Urara and it had only been five days! And to top it all off, Haru discovered that just thinking about it made his chest feel heavy. This had to be the result of some odd human phenomenon or something, because it just didn't make sense.

Today, the boys had gotten a late start to their day due to an overnight storm knocking out the electricity and resetting their alarms. It caused quite a commotion as they rushed through their morning rituals, leaving them no choice but to eat their breakfast as they ran to school.

"I can't believe this!" Yuki yelled with his mouth full of half-eaten toast. "I didn't even hear the damn storm!"

"It was so loud, though, Yuki!" Haru jumped to face the two behind him before running backwards, all without losing speed. "And the wind made the windows shake all night! It was so scary! I was so happy when the lights came back!"

The expression on Yuki's face changed from annoyed to deep frustration. "You mean you were up when the electricity came back? Why didn't you set an alarm? You could have saved us all this trouble!" Yuki scolded.

"What? But Urara was up too! We were downstairs when the lights came back! He could have done it too!"

"Urara doesn't know how to work an alarm clock! Unlike you!"

"Yuki! That's not fair!"

"Neither is trying to pin the blame on someone else!"

"Hmph." Haru turned back around as his cheeks puffed in a pout, knowing Yuki would stay on Urara's side no matter what. This was how all of these arguments tended to play out. Yuki faithfully defending Urara, Haru pouting in defeat, and Urara staying quiet as he uncomfortably played with his hair.

Yuki was the first to come through the doors of the classroom. Urara closely followed and Haru trudged in last. Just as they did every morning, the boys went straight to their seats. Yuki and Urara near the window, and Haru on the other side of the room near the bulletin board.

It wasn't a bad spot. The people around him treated him nicely, he could start doodling without the teacher noticing, and he could always see Yuki from his seat. Unfortunately, that also meant he could see Yuki getting chummy with Urara all day long. Haru had tried to switch seats with Urara and he had almost gotten him to (reluctantly) agree before a certain red-head overheard and scolded Haru for trying to take advantage of poor Urara. So the seats remained the same, leaving Haru to suffer through each day remembering when _he_ sat next to Yuki.

'_It's not fair. When I sat next to Yuki, he always tried to ignore me._' Haru looked over seeing a large grin on Yuki's face as he chatted away with his neighbor. '_What does Urara have that I don't that makes Yuki so happy?_' He thought about it for a minute, resting his chin on the desk in front of him. '_Is it because he's taller than me? Or maybe my face is too round. Should I dye my hair blue?_' He started piecing through his blonde locks considering the idea before tossing it aside and sighing.

Once again, Haru turned and just watched as his two friends became closer every minute while he was left on the other side of the room with nothing but a heavy feeling in his chest. He continued torturing himself until the teacher entered the classroom, interrupting Yuki and Urara's conversation and silencing them. Finally.

* * *

After-school fishing had become one of Haru's least favorite activities. The fishing itself didn't bother him, but having to watch Yuki do everything for Urara annoyed him to no end. He recognized that Urara was honestly trying to get the hang of these things, but he just couldn't help but feel anger toward his fellow alien.

"Here, let me get that for you, Urara."

'_Here we go again._'

Yuki reached for the rod and reel in Urara's hands, but was denied the chance to grab them when the suddenly flustered alien pulled them away.

"N-no! It's alright! I can put them together!" Haru rolled his eyes knowing that Urara had yet to successfully attach a reel to a rod, let alone put the whole thing together. Urara pointed toward Yuki's completely assembled pole. "You should just start. I'll join you in a minute."

"C'mon, Urara." Yuki held out his hand to take the reel. "You can watch me put it together today and then do it yourself tomorrow."

'_You've been saying that for three days now,_' Haru thought sourly as he rolled his eyes again.

After some quiet mumbling of reluctance on Urara's part, he finally surrendered the parts of his pole to Yuki and watched diligently as the red-head explained what he was doing.

"And then you attach the lure here, and you're good to go!" Yuki gave Urara a big grin as he held the assembled pole out to him.

The blue-haired alien smiled softly and bowed as he took the pole. "Thank you very much for teaching me." Yuki continued to grin as he gave a single nod in response and turned toward his own pole.

Meanwhile, Haru had not even begun to put his rod together. He was too distracted watching his companions in annoyance to do anything. Even now all he could do was just stare at his line, thinking. Thinking about how unfair it all was. About how it just used to be him and Yuki. About that heavy feeling in his chest. About how things might be different if Urara just went home. About how he just wanted Yuki back...

"Haru!"

The blonde alien snapped his eyes open and looked up to find Yuki with his brow furrowed in concern. "Yuki?"

Yuki took a step closer. "Are you alright, Haru?"

"Alright?" Haru blinked, confused as to what had prompted Yuki's sudden worry.

"You weren't answering me when I called your name! And you were holding your knees and shaking with your eyes closed!" Yuki's voice grew louder as he became more worried when he realized that Haru had no recollection of anything he was talking about.

Haru didn't know how to respond. How long had he been crouched on the ground thinking? When did he close his eyes? Had he fallen asleep? So many questions ran through his mind when he finally noticed something missing. "Where's Urara?"

Yuki furrowed his brow even deeper. "Haru... I-" He sighed before continuing, wondering how in the world he could be thinking about something so trivial at a time like this. "I sent Urara home with the gear so I could try to snap you out of whatever you were doing!" He paused as he bent down to look Haru square in the eye. "Haru. What's going on?"

"Yuki..." His mouth hung open in disbelief. His eyes were wide open in shock. He was alone with Yuki. It was just the two of them again. It was just like before. No. It was better than before. This time Yuki was so close. And of his own will instead of by result of Haru's jumping on him.

But this closeness didn't last long until Haru jumped up and ran to the edge of the dock, hanging his head above the water as the contents of his stomach forced its way through his esophagus.

Yuki could only go over and rub Haru's back with a look of concern for his friend as Haru started shaking with his last heaves.

Having never experienced vomiting, Haru began to feel panicked. That is, until he felt a series of gentle motions on his back. Realizing Yuki's presence, Haru began to relax and spit out the last of the terrible taste inside his mouth.

"Yuki?"

"Hmm?" The red-head hummed softly as he continued the gentle motions on Haru's back.

"I don't feel good," he managed with a somewhat raspy voice due to his terrible "episode."

Haru heard a light chuckle from behind him. "I can see that." The gentle motions on his back stopped as he heard feet shuffling and pivoting. "Here, Haru."

Tired eyes turned to see Yuki crouched down, facing away with his hands placed behind his back to function as a step. Haru did not question or hesitate, but grabbed on to Yuki's shoulders and neck as the red-head stood, holding on to the other's legs.

Haru felt Yuki start to make his way toward home. He put his arms around Yuki's neck in a tight embrace and buried his face into the crook of the other's shoulder. He took a deep breath and immediately recognized the familiar scent. That's when the water had started falling from his eyes again.

Yuki felt his tear-stained shoulder and noticed it didn't dry until they arrived home.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Hi guys! Wow, I was really surprised by the reception the first chapter got! And by (un)lucky chance, the internet connection in my area has been sporadic due to some power outages early last week, so I've had (more) time to work on this chapter, even if it did turn out to be a short one!  
So thank you for your comments, be it here or on tumblr, and I hope you guys enjoy this and future updates!**

* * *

It was late when Yuki and Haru had finally reached home. Of course, it didn't help that Haru had fallen asleep somewhere along the way, leaving Yuki to try to fully support his weight. He didn't mind, though. At least Haru was getting some rest and hopefully done crying.

'_But why was he crying in the first place?_' Yuki couldn't help but think that Haru's emotional breakdown was due to something more than just a stomach flu. He thought about the day's events but came up short on anything that would be earth shattering to the bubbly alien. Yuki didn't get it. Haru was always happy and optimistic. So why would he just suddenly break down like he did?

Yuki's train of thought continued on as he managed to get Haru and himself through the door of their home, but stopped when he realized the whole house was dark. He'd known it would be late when they got back, but he didn't think it would be so late that Urara and his grandmother would have both gone to bed.

Pushing his slight surprise aside, he started to carefully make his way to Haru's room through the dark so he could put the sleeping alien to bed.

As they reached the stairs, Yuki felt Haru fidget slightly before hearing a small moan.

"Yuki..."

"Haru?"

"Yuki... Don't go..."

'_Is he talking in his sleep?_' Yuki held his breath as he waited for Haru to say something more, but to no avail. Haru's breathing had become even once more, with the occasional small smacking of his lips.

Yuki continued up the stairs when he was sure Haru had fallen asleep again. '_Go? Where am I going?_' He thought about it for a minute. '_Well, knowing Haru, it probably has something to do with cats,_' he decided. After all, most of the nightmares Haru had described to him had involved cats.

The red-head smiled to himself as he reached for the doorknob to Haru's room. '_That's right. Haru is too happy of a person to stay like this. He's going to be fine._'

Haru's room was pitch black when Yuki managed to open the door. Luckily, the room was almost barren, with nothing more than a reclining chair, a table, and a bucket of water for Haru's feet. Yuki had no problem making his way across the room to the large window that faced Haru's "bed."

The smile on Yuki's face had not disappeared during his short trip across the room, along with his reassurance that Haru was going to be okay. However, the simple actions of opening the large curtains to let in the moonlight and turning around wiped his face clean of any trace of a grin.

'_Are those... band-aid wrappers?_'

Dozens of little paper strips completely surrounded the small area Haru used for sleeping. Small paper hills had started to form in some spots and while the large majority of the wrappers were on the ground, some pieces rested in Haru's chair.

Immediately, Yuki thought of the worst. His heart started racing faster than it ever had before. Was Haru hurt? How did it happen? Who would have done it? Or worse. What if Haru was doing this to himself? Yuki's mind stopped and he felt his heart drop into the pit of his stomach at that last thought. With how odd he'd been acting today, it didn't seem impossible.

He didn't care about being careful anymore. He didn't care about being quiet anymore. He didn't care if Haru woke up. He just needed to know that Haru would be okay. He had finally gotten him back after six months and he wasn't ready to lose him again.

Yuki rushed Haru off his back and into the chair. He laid Haru down and started working on removing the other's clothes. In the flurry of zippers, buttons, and fabric, Yuki had not noticed the tears gathering in his own eyes. All he could do was try to focus on his shaky hands as he removed layer after layer.

When Yuki had finally exposed Haru's torso, he had to gasp and take a step back. The blonde alien's chest and upper arms were covered in bandages. There were so many, Yuki could only imagine the blood that had been spilled from his friend's body.

All he could do was stand and stare at the boy in front of him. He had no idea what he was supposed to do. Was he supposed to call 911 and get him to a hospital? But what good would earth doctors do when faced with treating an alien? Was he supposed to wake Haru and talk with him? But it seemed like Haru needed all the rest he could get at this point. What was left? Just ignore it? How could he possibly do something like that? No. He needed to see for himself just how badly his friend had been hurting.

Ever so quietly, as not to wake Haru, Yuki took a slow step forward. It seemed as if Haru was sleeping quite soundly, but he didn't want to take any chances. The red-head reached for a random bandage on Haru's chest, still hesitant about whether what he was doing was right or not. There was no turning back now, though, he decided.

He grabbed the band-aid and ripped if off quickly. Yuki watched Haru's relaxed sleeping face take on an expression of discomfort shortly before returning to his original peaceful state. He almost couldn't look. It wasn't something he wanted to look for, but he knew it was something he had to do.

His eyes slowly scanned Haru's creamy white skin for a trace of red, but there was none to be found. It shouldn't be that hard to see. Any kind of scar would easily be noticeable with Haru's pale complexion. Yuki looked over and over again, but there was no sign of any injuries. He had to make sure, though, so once again, Yuki removed another bandage and watched as he revealed more of Haru's unmarked skin.

The two bandages he had been holding quickly fluttered to the floor as he pulled the sleeping blonde into a tight embrace, finally letting the tears he'd been holding back escape. "Thank god," Yuki whispered shakily. His whole body trembled, releasing the fear and worry that had built-up so quickly. Finally, he felt like he could breathe again. "He's going to be okay. He's going to be okay." The red-head kept repeating it as if it would become untrue if he ever stopped. And if he were to be perfectly honest with himself, he never did want to stop. Just the relief of the whole situation was the best feeling in the world at the time. All he wanted to do was hold the small figure in his arms and never let go. After a fair amount of time, though, Yuki decided that he should let Haru rest properly.

Another smile appeared on Yuki's face as he gently set Haru back down. The same smile remained plastered on his face as he covered Haru with a light sheet, remembering that the blonde detested being suffocated under heavy blankets while he slept, and placed his feet in the basin of cool water on the floor. Yuki, being satisfied with his job of putting Haru to bed, continued to smile as he made his way toward the door. But right before leaving Haru to rest, he decided to turn off the alarm Haru had set to go off bright and early every morning. '_You really do deserve a day to sleep in,_' the red-head thought to himself as he flipped the switch on the clock before quietly leaving the room.

The door closed with a soft click, leaving Haru alone in his empty room, asleep and unaware of anything that had happened that evening.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Yay! Third chappie! It turned out to be longer than I had originally planned, but that might be a good thing, right?**

**Anyway! I really want to thank all of you guys who have been leaving reviews here, favoriting, and commenting on tumblr! It really makes my day when I hear from you! So sincerely and genuinely, thank you!**

**But let's get this party started!**

* * *

It was dark. Far too dark for the blonde alien to see much of anything.

'Where am I?' Haru wondered. He had no memory of ever coming to such a place like this. So how did he get there? Carefully, he took a step forward. And another, and another, until he was comfortable walking around in the darkness. But walking didn't seem to be getting him anywhere. It seemed as if this place was completely empty. "Hello?" he shouted. "Is anyone here?"

All of a sudden, a moan echoed throughout the empty space.

Haru jumped, startled by the sudden noise. He turned in the direction he had heard it come from and quickly started walking. "H-hello?"

No response.

He continued walking at his quick pace looking for any sign of life. But everything was so dark. Would he even be able to see whatever made the noise if he passed it? Was he even going in the right direction? He squinted, hoping that that was enough to help him see. His head moved left to right, scanning the area until something caught his eye.

Haru stopped and squinted even harder at the unknown object. It was rather far away. Slowly, he started walking toward it, keeping his eyes locked on it. He was getting closer. He was close enough to see it without squinting now. But he still couldn't make out what it was.

His pace increased just slightly. He was almost there. It was getting easier to see whatever it was he was walking toward. The top of it was fluffy-looking. And it was the prettiest shade of red Haru had ever seen. It almost looked like hair...

Red hair...

The blonde gasped before breaking into a full sprint.

"Yuki! Yuki!" He kept calling the name over and over. Haru didn't know if he was happy to see him, or if he was worried that he was in this miserable place. All he knew was that he needed to get to him as quickly as he could.

He was so close now. He could definitely make out Yuki's shape in the darkness. The excited alien continued running, getting closer to his friend, but stopped dead in his tracks when he was close enough to see another person. This one with blue hair.

"Urara?"

He could easily see his two friends from where he stood, but they didn't seem to notice him. In fact, they didn't seem to notice much of anything around them. Urara's eyes seemed to be stuck on Yuki, while the red-head returned his gaze, both with flushed faces.

Suddenly, the blue-haired alien started to lean toward the red-head, bringing their faces closer together.

"No..."

Urara took Yuki's limp arms and placed them around his lower back so that the red-head was holding him in an embrace.

"Stop."

Finally, the alien grabbed the other's shoulders and pulled him forward, eliminating the space between them, in a passionate kiss.

"DON'T TOUCH HIM! HE'S MINE!"

And in an instant, the darkness around him was replaced by the familiar surroundings of his room. The blonde alien was sitting straight up in his reclining chair, holding on to the sheet that was covering him for dear life. Cold sweat covered his skin and he trembled slightly as he stared out the window in front of him with an expression of pained horror.

"Was it a dream?" he wondered. Haru started to look around. Everything in his room was just as he'd left it. Right down to the band-aid wrappers on the floor. Seeing that he was awake and safe in his room, Haru relaxed a bit and laid back in his chair as he sighed in relief. "It was just a dream."

Still a little tired, Haru just laid there, staring at the ceiling above him. Keito had once told him that every dream has some meaning behind it. He thought about it for a minute, but decided he wasn't sure he even wanted to know the meaning behind such a dream. Haru wasn't completely sure why, but just thinking about Urara's lips pressed against Yuki's made his chest feel really heavy. Even heavier than when he saw his two friends sitting together at school. Heavier than when he watched Yuki teach Urara how to fish. The whole dream made his chest sink deeper than it ever had before.

It hurt.

The blonde sat up and reached for the small box on the table in front of him. He opened it up and peered inside. "Only three left... I'll have to get more." His fingers struggled to grab at the band-aids in the empty box for a moment, before successfully pulling one out. And just as he had done many times before, Haru pulled the wrappers apart and gently placed the bandage on an exposed part of his chest. He knew the process all too well.

"There." A soft smile appeared on his face as he patted the new addition to the collection on his torso. "That bad feeling in my chest will definitely go away soon with this."

Once he was sure the bandage was securely stuck to his skin, he decided to stand up and dress himself. That's when Haru noticed the clothes he was wearing. He had slept in his clothes plenty of times before he had learned about the comfier clothes humans called pajamas, but he had never slept in his school uniform. Especially not with his jacket and dress shirt both unbuttoned, revealing his entire torso. It surprised the alien, but didn't cause him much distress as he walked to his closet to decide what to wear.

Today was Saturday. Haru liked Saturdays. He could wear whatever he wanted then. After scanning his wardrobe he decided he wanted to wear blue today. The blonde happily grabbed a white and blue striped T-shirt, a pair of matching blue capris pants, and his favorite blue bandana scarf. He quickly changed out of his uniform, hanging it nicely in the closet, and into his blue ensemble. When he'd finished tying his scarf around the back of his neck, he took a look at himself in the mirror attached to his closet door. A large grin adorned his face as he performed a quick twirl in approval of his outfit for the day. However, he stopped his spinning short when he noticed his clock in the mirror. He turned on his heel to see the bright red numbers declaring that the time was 9:16 AM.

The blonde felt his chest sink into the pit of his stomach. His violet eyes widened as the grin he wore fell off his face and was replaced by a look of genuine fear.

"N-no... That's not right," he tried to convince himself. "I-I set an alarm." He continued to stare at the clock as if he thought it would change to an earlier time if he kept at it. When a minute had passed, the red numbers changed to read 9:17 AM. Haru took a sharp breath and closed his eyes as he violently slapped his cheek. "This is just another dream, right? Wake up! Please, wake up!" Nothing changed, though. He was still in his room, staring at the clock, and he could feel the sting of the slap he'd just given himself.

His expression of fear was now a look of complete panic. The alien rushed across his room and slammed the door shut on his way out. He broke into almost a sprint as he made his way down the hall to the stairs. When he reached them, he took no less than three at a time, almost deciding to jump the whole flight. In the living room, he jumped over the chair and coffee table, almost tripping both times before running through the kitchen door and coming to a halt when he saw Yuki sitting at the table with a mug, staring at him with concern.

"Haru? What's the matter?"

'_Thank goodness..._'

The blonde calmed down enough to answer in a flustered voice. "O-oh! Good morning, Yuki! M-my alarm didn't work this morning so I thought I'd be late!"

Yuki furrowed his brow in confusion. "Late? It's Saturday," he told the alien. "Why do you set your alarm to go off so early, even on the weekends?"

'_Because if I don't, you might get up earlier and leave without me._'

"To water the flowers!" It wasn't a complete lie. Haru did often go out to tend to the garden while he waited for his friends to wake up.

A sigh came out of the red-head's mouth. "You know you don't have to do that, Haru. The flowers won't die if you want to sleep in a little." He took a sip of his drink. "Besides, Grandma gets up early enough to water them, if they really need it."

"No, Yuki!" Haru protested. "Flowers die without water! Keito said! Keito said!"

"Alright, alright! It's just..." He paused. "I don't think it would hurt for you to sleep in once in a while okay?"

With a stubborn pout on his face, Haru sat at the table and shook his head. "Flowers need water!"

Another frustrated sigh escaped from Yuki before he remembered the events that had occurred the night before. He had decided that the band-aids were probably part of some odd dress-up game, but what happened at the docks was very real. People didn't just break down and get sick like Haru had for no reason. And Yuki really didn't have the slightest idea what could have caused something like that.

He stared worriedly at the blonde across the table, who was now twirling his scarf around his fingers, smile as big as ever.

"Haru?"

The alien looked up from his scarf entwined fingers. "Yes, Yuki?"

"Are you feeling better today?" he asked softly.

"Better?" Suddenly, Haru remembered his episode at the docks the day before. "Oh yeah... I'm broken..."

Yuki blinked. Broken? What was that supposed to mean?

Haru looked at Yuki with worry in his eyes. "Yuki, why did icky stuff come out of my mouth last night? It won't happen again, will it?"

The red-head blinked again before realizing that that had been Haru's first experience with vomiting. '_So that's what he means by broken_,' he thought before clearing his throat. "Haru. That icky stuff was food that you had eaten before. You threw it up." He couldn't believe he was explaining how throwing up worked. Didn't aliens ever get sick? "Basically, your stomach couldn't handle having stuff in it, so it got rid of it through your mouth."

The worried expression on the alien's face quickly changed into disgust as Yuki explained what had happened to him. "But all the food I ate yesterday wasn't icky like that! It was all good food!"

"Yeah, but there's also some stomach acid mixed in and probably some other stuff that makes it taste bad. I'm not really sure." Yuki scratched the back of his head, embarrassed that he didn't know more. "But it happens when you get sick, like with the flu, or if you're suffering from stress and stuff like that."

Haru's head tilted in confusion at this new word. "Stress?" he repeated.

"Yeah." He took another sip from his mug before continuing. "It's like when your brain gets exhausted." Then suddenly, he got an idea. "Or your heart."

The scarf stopped moving between Haru's fingers for a moment, but then started again at a quicker pace than before. "Your h-heart?"

Yuki watched the blonde staring intently at his fingers, obviously avoiding eye contact with him. The red-head started patting his chest. "Yup. Right here." He noticed Haru's eyes flicker up at him before quickly retreating back to his scarf.

"Th-that's interesting." Haru didn't know why he was so nervous. It's not like Yuki could have known about that feeling in his chest. Could he? "But band-aids would fix stress, right? Keito says band-aids fix you when you hurt."

The image of Haru's bandage-covered chest returned to Yuki's mind as his eyes widened in realization. '_So they're not a part of some game._'

He continued to stare at Haru while the blonde's eyes remained glued to his own fingers, fumbling with the scarf around his neck.

Suddenly the silence was broken by the sound of shattering glass coming from the living room. Both of the boys broke their stares and looked toward the kitchen door before rushing to see what had caused the noise. They ran through the door to find Urara kneeling on the ground, picking up pieces of a broken vase off the floor.

"Urara! Are you okay?" The red-head rushed to the alien's side and bent down next to him.

Becoming flustered, as he often did, the blue-haired alien replied, "I'm okay! I didn't mean to break it! I just wanted to look at it and my hand slipped and- Ow!" He pulled his hand back as he dropped the pieces he had been picking up.

"You've got to be careful with broken glass! Here. Let me see."

Haru watched as Yuki scooted closer to Urara and took his hand. His eyes widened as he remembered his dream from that morning. '_No... Not again._' The blonde quickly, but quietly, went outside, not being able to handle watching his two friends be so close to each other.

As tears started to pool in his eyes, Haru started making his way to the garden. He didn't want to think about what was happening in the house. All he wanted right now was to be distracted by the flowers in the backyard he'd come to adore. But the heavy feeling in his chest was a constant reminder that right now Yuki was probably really close to Urara. Closer than he'd ever get to Haru. Because that horrible feeling in his chest was there to remind him that no matter what, Yuki would never care for Haru as much as he cared for Urara.

The blonde bent down and hung his head over a single yellow tulip, letting the liquid fall from his eyes and soak into the soil around it.

After all, you shouldn't waste water, right?


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Phew, chapter 4! It would have been here sooner, but it seemed to really like giving me trouble... First the power went out while I was writing, wiping a large portion of it clean. And then, after writing a good majority of it again, I decided to go a different route and scrapped the whole thing and started over. But I hope you guys enjoy it! With my luck right now, though, it will be be deleted off forever.**

* * *

Haru sighed as he laid his head on his desk. It had been a couple days since Yuki had told him about stress, and the blonde-haired alien had done so much to try to figure out what cured it. Several of the books had told him to try something called "time management," but he didn't have a clue what that even was. TV shows and the internet told him to listen to calming music while doing something called "meditating," which sounded a lot like sitting and doing nothing. But when he tried it, his mind started reeling with thoughts about Yuki, Urara, and the terrible dream he kept having.

Every night, he'd find himself wandering around in the darkness until he'd find his two friends embracing each other, their lips crashing and molding together. And all he could do was watch in painful silence as it happened in front of him. It had practically become routine to the alien, and had resulted in an utter hatred of the nighttime.

"Haru!"

The blonde quickly stood as he heard the teacher calling him. "Y-yes!"

"Stop daydreaming and start reading from line 48, please."

"Yes, sir!" All of his classmates giggled as Haru picked up his book and started reading aloud. All but one.

Yuki watched Haru with concern in his eyes. This definitely wasn't the first time somebody had trouble getting the alien's attention. For the past couple days now, it seemed yelling was the only way to snap him out of his thoughts. He didn't know what Haru was thinking about all the time, but he was sure that it was the cause of his odd behavior.

And those band-aids. Those damned band-aids.

Yuki had been trying so hard to "accidentally" catch Haru with the band-aids ever since the blonde had asked if they helped with stress that morning. He had tried to get Haru to go swimming, even saying that he would accompany him even though he couldn't swim. He'd tried convincing him that he'd cool off if he removed his shirt, but the blonde adamantly refused. Yuki had even tried walking in on Haru in the bath, finding that his timing was terrible when he saw Haru's torso fully covered every time. And for reasons that had become obvious to Yuki the night he put Haru to bed, Haru did not allow anybody to go in his room.

Just asking the alien was not an option. He knew that Haru would just lie and put on a big grin while he doled out a false explanation. But if Haru had been caught, he would have to give him the truth. Right?

* * *

The notebook on Haru's desk was full of small drawings and doodles. It's all he ever did during class lectures. After all, what good was human knowledge to an alien? Now, though, he regretted not paying closer attention during class. He wondered if one of his teachers had already talked about stress in an earlier lesson. It would have been so much easier to listen to a teacher than to search through the endless amounts of self-help books he'd found.

He continued to draw in his notebook. The doodles hadn't changed much since the feeling in his chest started coming around. There were still plenty of flowers and small fish scattered across the pages. The only noticeable difference was in the drawings of the groups of people fishing. One could easily make out Urara's distinct ponytail hairstyle and Yuki's mop of messy hair. Sometimes even Natsuki, Akira, and Tapioca made an appearance. It was a complete group of all of his friends happily fishing in the sea.

Without him.

While he included himself in his earlier doodles, somewhere along the way Haru began to draw only his friends. He didn't see it as a huge change. At first, he didn't even notice it. And once he did, he didn't pay much mind to it and continued to draw as he usually did.

The pencil slid across the paper as Haru was finishing the tail on Akira's turban, when he felt a light thump on the top of his head. Looking up, he saw Urara standing close behind Yuki who was holding a notebook atop his blonde locks.

Haru plastered a grin onto his face. "Yuki, you surprised me! You were so quiet, it's like you're a ninja!"

"Quiet?" The red-head's frown turned into a grimace as he removed the notebook from the alien's head. "Haru, both of us have been trying to get your attention for the past couple minutes." Yuki began to gesture to the empty seats around them. "Class is over. Everybody else has left."

"Oh?" The blonde looked around the empty room as he stood and grabbed his bookbag. "I guess I was too busy learning to notice everybody leaving!"

Yuki raised a brow. "We all know you don't pay attention to the lectures."

A pout came across Haru's face as he crossed his arms. "I pay attention! I pay lots of attention!"

"Haru is always writing when I look over at him, Yuki," Urara chimed in.

"Try drawing, Urara," Yuki replied as he started making his way toward the door, the two aliens following close behind.

"Hmph! I'm a good student!"

"Whatever you say, Haru." A small smirk appeared on the red-head's face. At least Haru was acting like his normal self right now. "Anyway, I was thinking we'd go get something to eat and then fish for tuna today."

Urara gave a small nod. "That sounds good."

Haru didn't say anything.

"What about you, Haru?" Yuki glanced over to the blonde. "Does that sound good to you?"

Shaking his head slightly, Haru replied, "Haru doesn't want to fish today. Haru's going to go home."

Both of his companions turned to him, surprised, almost shocked. The trio always went fishing after school. To not want to go might have been the most deviant act in their small group.

"But you love fishing, Haru!" Urara reminded him.

"Yeah. Why don't you want to go?"

The blonde shrugged. "Haru just doesn't feel like it today!"

Yuki frowned, a puzzled look on his face, as he pushed open the school doors. '_Well, I suppose it isn't a huge deal, not wanting to fish once in awhile. It doesn't have to be because of whatever's making him act weird._'

When the three reached the school gates, Yuki stopped and turned to Haru. "Are you sure you just want to go home?"

Haru grinned as he nodded. "Mmhmm! Haru's gonna go play with the flowers!"

"Well..." Yuki paused, attempting to read Haru's face for any trace of something off, but only found the bright smile he'd come to know too well. "Okay then. If you change your mind, we'll be where we usually go for tuna."

"Okay!" Haru turned and started walking away from his companions, raising a hand in the air. "Don't have too much fun without me!"

"I'm not promising anything!" Haru heard Yuki yell as he and Urara started in the opposite direction.

The blonde heard the two discussing where they wanted to eat before he turned a corner and couldn't hear them any longer. He let the sides of his mouth fall as he relaxed, finally dropping his facade. The bounce in his step disappeared as his pace slowed and he began walking normally.

'_Well, that wasn't so hard_,' he thought to himself. Haru had thought that it would be much more difficult to get out of fishing with his friends. It wasn't because he disliked fishing, but because he was unsure whether he could handle watching Yuki get so close to Urara without being haunted by images of his dream. And the last thing he wanted was to have a repeat of what happened at the docks that night.

So for his own good, he ignored his desire to turn around and go fishing with his friends, and kept walking in the opposite direction.

* * *

Haru turned the corner into the yard and was immediately spotted by Keito who stood by the door of the house, holding a watering can. Her face was adorned with the same motherly smile she always seemed to wear.

"Welcome home, Haru," Keito said as the blonde walked toward her.

"I'm home!" he declared as happily as ever. His eyes shifted to the watering can in the woman's hands. "Is Keito going to water the flowers now?"

"I thought they could use a drink on such a warm afternoon." She held the watering can out to the alien. "Would you like to help?"

Nodding enthusiastically, Haru took the watering can from her as the two began to make their way around the house to the garden. Once they reached the backyard, Keito watched as Haru set the can down, grabbed the hose, and began to fill it and another watering can nearby with water. When both of the cans were full, Haru turned the hose toward his face and let the water wash over him in a refreshing waterfall.

He turned to Keito as he stopped the flow of water. "The flowers are really going to like this!"

Chuckling, she took one of the cans and began to pour its contents over some poppies. Haru quickly grabbed the other and started watering some nearby dahlias.

"So where are Yuki and Urara?" Keito asked as they continued to water.

"They're fishing for tuna!"

"Oh?" The woman paused as she shifted her watering can over to the zinnias. "And why aren't you fishing today?"

Haru moved on to a rose bush as he replied, "Haru didn't want to fish today! Haru wanted to water flowers!"

"I see. Well, I'm sure the flowers appreciate what you're doing for them, then."

The two of them moved from the flowers they had finished watering and both came to the tulips. Keito knelt down as one particular tulip caught her eye. The alien bent down to see the yellow tulip he had cried over days ago, now beginning to wilt to the ground.

"Haru," Keito began as she gently touched the poor flower. "Did you know that a yellow tulip symbolizes hopeless love?"

He blinked, confused. "Hopeless love?"

"Yes. A love that can never be returned. It truly is such a sad thought, isn't it?" She took her hand away from the delicate flower as she continued. "I never understood, though, how such a bright, yellow flower could represent such a thing. They always look so happy." She flashed a smile at Haru. "And they bloom beautifully."

Something caught in Haru's throat as Keito reached for her watering can and moistened the soil around the wilting plant. "I hate to see them wilting like this, but I understand that they can't always be completely happy. So I'm very proud of them for persisting to grow and bloom like they do." Once again, she turned to Haru with a soft smile. "And I'll be very happy when this one blooms again."

Haru could feel the water pooling in his violet eyes as they widened in realization. "Keito," he started quietly, fighting the lump in this throat. "What does love feel like?"

"Hmm..." she hummed as she stood. "Let's just say that it's that heavy feeling in your chest when you see that special person."

He looked up at her with wide, teary eyes as she winked at him and started walking toward the house, leaving him alone in the garden.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Oh god I'm so so sorry this took longer than usual! My schedule at work has been hectic as of late for whatever reason! My managers must really like me or really hate me to begin adding all these hours and extra shifts! But chapter 5 is here now! And I apologize for the SUPER length... I had thought about separating it into two chapters, but I really wanted to keep it all in one, so that's what I did. I'm sorry. ;n;**

**But I hope you enjoy it anyway!**

* * *

"Love?"

Haru stared at the ceiling as he laid on the couch in the living room. Keito had gone to take care of the flowers in the large gardens behind the house and Yuki and Urara were still out fishing, leaving the blonde alone with his thoughts.

He brought his hands to his chest, holding them over his heart, remembering Keito's words.

"_Love is that heavy feeling in your chest..._"

They had been repeating in his mind ever since he dazedly made his way into the living room.

"Is this what love is?" The alien had heard of love so many times, even on his own planet. There were several different technical definitions for human emotions, but no matter how many times he'd memorized them all, he was always told that he'd never truly understand what they meant until he'd experienced them for himself. And it was true. The dictionary definitions for happiness could never accurately describe the pure elation he felt when he'd first experienced it. And he literally thought that he might have been dying when he had experienced his first stages of sadness.

But love was much more complicated. All of the definitions on his home planet were always said to be inaccurate or incomplete, and the Earth dictionaries made it sound like it was happiness toward other people. This lead the alien to believe that the feelings he felt for all of his friends was love. So, this feeling in his chest couldn't be love, could it? Love was supposed to be a happy feeling, wasn't it? It wasn't supposed to make his chest feel heavy and tight, or make it hard to breathe sometimes, and it especially wasn't supposed to make him cry.

No, this heavy feeling in his chest had to be something else. Even if the definitions weren't completely accurate, they couldn't be this wrong about it.

Still, Keito had never been wrong about his feelings before. And she seemed to definitely know more about human emotions than any book or dictionary could teach him. So if this feeling really was love, then why did it hurt so much?

Haru sighed as he rolled onto his stomach. "Maybe this is why Coco kept telling me to not fall in love here," he said, his words muffled by the pillow covering his face.

Suddenly he heard the creak of the front door opening. The blonde didn't move from his spot, however, already hearing the voices of his two friends entering through the door.

"Grandma! Haru!" Yuki yelled into the house. "We're home!"

Haru wanted to answer back. He wanted to greet his friends in his usual cheery voice, but he just couldn't bring himself to remove his face from the soft pillow, much less get up off the couch.

"Oh! Yuki!" He heard Urara's voice whispering. "I think Haru's sleeping."

Hearing this, the blonde decided to play along as he heard footsteps making their way toward him. "Oh. Oops," Yuki started in a whisper. "I shouldn't have yelled so loudly then." Some rustling noises came from the front of the couch before Yuki spoke again. "Urara, would you go check to see if Grandma's in the yard or in the gardens out back?"

"Sure," Urara agreed before the sound of his footsteps sounded throughout the room, getting quieter as he left the living room and eventually disappeared with the sound of the back door falling shut.

Everything was quiet again. Haru wasn't sure, but he didn't think he'd heard Yuki leave. Still, he didn't want to risk getting caught pretending to sleep, so he continued to stay as still as he could.

Finally, the red-head shifted a little, making his presence apparent to the blonde. Yuki had sat himself on the edge of the coffee table in front of the couch, something he'd usually frown upon but made an exception for himself this once. He looked upon his "sleeping" friend with worry in his eyes, something he felt he'd been doing much too often lately.

Sighing, the red-head placed his hand on the alien's back and started performing the same gentle motions he had done for him the evening he'd broken down at the docks. Haru's eyes widened at the touch as a blush began to make its way across his face. He could feel his heart beating faster and faster as Yuki continued to rub his back. Breathing was quickly becoming a chore. Of course, it didn't help that he had buried his face in a pillow before this all began.

Then, in the midst of what felt like his mini-panic attack, Haru noticed something.

That heavy feeling in his chest had returned.

There was no doubt in his mind that it was the same feeling. However, this time it was joined by a nervous adrenaline rush, but it also felt warm and happy. Most importantly, though, this time, it didn't hurt.

"Yuki!" A whisper came from the kitchen. "Keito wants some help in the garden."

"Coming!" the red-head quietly replied as he stood and, much to Haru's simultaneous relief and disappointment, removed his hand from Haru's lower back.

The blonde listened to the shuffling footsteps as they made their way through the kitchen and out the back door. When it had clicked shut, Haru immediately sat straight up. His face was beet red and covered in sweat.

"Why, Yuki...?" he couldn't help but wonder aloud, his voice shaking. The beating heart in his chest had not slowed one bit. He started to raise his hands to his torso, but stopped when he took notice of the sweat on his now shaking palms.

All of these reactions were so new to the alien. He wasn't sure how he was supposed to think about them. They made him feel scared. However, he also felt a kind of lingering happiness. These two conflicting emotions wrestled each other, creating a tight, heavy sensation in his chest. One that was all too familiar by now.

Any leftover doubts in Haru's mind were now gone. This feeling was so different from any other he'd felt. It was so complicated and confusing, almost as if every human emotion had been mixed together into one. Words could not possibly hope to define such a sensation. It was impossible. It was beautiful. It was terrifying.

It was love.

* * *

The kitchen was bustling with the sounds of clattering pans and the hissing of boiling water as each of the four took part in preparing supper. Yuki had protested, saying that he would do the cooking himself, but lost the argument, just as he did every other night. So, as a compromise, the red-head received the authority to tell everybody what jobs they could and couldn't do. Typically, this meant that the teen was the only one to handle sharp knives and direct heat. He wanted to be careful to make sure his grandmother didn't injure herself since she'd already been to the hospital a number of times, Urara was too clumsy to trust with such things, and Haru just being in the kitchen with his energetic disposition made the red-head nervous.

Tonight, Yuki had placed Urara in charge of stirring the pots of broth on the stove, warning the alien multiple times to not burn himself; Keito was in charge of the spices going into the dish and overall supervision since she did have the most experience with cooking; and after giving it quite a bit of thought, he decided that it was safe enough to give Haru a dull butter knife to butter pieces of french bread with a garlic butter spread. This left Yuki the job of peeling and chopping various vegetables and meat.

"Ah, watch out for the steam, Urara," Keito sweetly warned as she noticed it starting to rise from the pots. "It's very hot."

Curiously, the blue-haired alien carefully held his hand near the swirling streams floating above the broth and quickly pulled it back when he felt the heat. "It _is_ hot!" He flashed a smile toward Keito. "Thank you!"

A small smile appeared across Yuki's lips as he watched Urara observing the steam flying toward the ceiling. He then turned to check on Haru, who had been sitting at the table spreading the garlic butter on the bread. The red-head frowned at the blonde who, although was doing well and getting his job done, was sitting at the table remaining very quiet. The alien seemed to be distracted by his thoughts, yet again.

"Haru," he called.

"Hmm?" the alien hummed quietly in response, not taking his gaze away from his task.

"Make sure you don't spread too much butter on those, okay?"

There was a pause before Haru answered back. "Alright."

He was calm. Too calm. Yuki had usually thought it would have been better if Haru wasn't so bouncy all the time, but this new quiet personality of his was very unsettling. It worried him, especially considering that he still wasn't sure what the reason behind the band-aids on the alien's torso was. It almost hurt to see his friend like this. Actually, it hurt quite a bit. A lot more than it should have, probably. Haru was very important to him, being that he was his first true friend and the reason he had grown out of his shell, even just a little. But the feelings the red-head had experienced over the past couple days were too strong to feel toward just a friend. Yuki had tried not to think about it too much, assuming that Haru would return to his bubbly self and everything would go back to normal. He could see now, though, that that wasn't going to happen soon. So he was stuck with these emotions, attempting to figure out what exactly he felt.

He grimaced at the potato in his hand before he began to peel it, hoping that nobody could see the small hint of red that he felt in his cheeks.

Meanwhile, Haru continued to spread butter on the bread that Yuki had sliced before giving it to him. It was a monotonous task, but it gave him a distraction from his endless thoughts of "_What am I supposed to do?" _and "_Why does it hurt so much?_" Yes, this kind of chore was good for him, he decided.

However, a loaf of bread only takes so long to butter. When he reached for another slice, only to grab at thin air, he began to panic slightly. He didn't want those thoughts to come back when he was in front of everybody. Not when he was aware that it was completely possible for the water to spring to eyes again, making everybody worry, though he still wasn't sure why that was.

Looking around the table, he spotted another loaf of bread that he quickly grabbed. Unfortunately, this bread was completely intact and impossible to butter. Violet eyes shifted toward the serrated bread knife lying near the edge of the table. Yuki had made it adamantly clear that he was the only one allowed to touch the knives, but if the blonde was quiet enough, maybe Yuki wouldn't notice...

Casually, Haru reached for the handle attached to the blade and began to slice the loaf, copying what he had watched Yuki and Keito do so many times. The first slice separated and toppled over onto the table surface. Then the second. And the third.

This wasn't difficult. It barely felt dangerous. And it was the perfect mind-numbing activity to distract himself with. It felt rather nice, actually. Maybe he could slice more bread later on by himself if he needed a break from his thoughts.

"Haru!"

The blonde snapped his head up to see Yuki staring back at him with a look of extreme worry on his face. Urara looked up from the pots on the stove, confused, to see what had prompted the commotion, and Keito calmly stood by watching.

Haru felt his cheeks start to heat up as he held back an involuntary blush caused by the red-head's intense stare. "Yuki?"

"I told you not to touch the knives! They're dangerous!" The red-head rushed toward the alien and carefully, but quickly, grabbed the knife from the other's hand.

"But, Yuki..." Haru began, "There was no more bread sliced and it was there... I just thought-"

"No! You didn't think!" Yuki interrupted. "What if something had happened? What if you had hurt yourself? You're an alien, Haru! What if I couldn't treat your wound right? Band-aids don't fix everything, you know!"

Both of them froze.

Yuki gasped as he covered his mouth with his hands, realizing what he wasn't able to catch soon enough. Haru's eyes widened as he desperately clutched his torso, attempting to hide what was already covered by the shirt he was wearing. The blonde rose from his chair, beginning to tremble as the tears inevitably pooled in his eyes. He stared intently at Yuki with a panicked expression.

Yuki took a small step forward. "Haru," he quietly began. "I didn't-"

"You weren't supposed to know." Haru's voice shook as the first tear slid down his cheek.

"I-I know, Haru. But that night at the docks-"

"Yuki wasn't supposed to find out!" He screamed before he rushed out of the kitchen at a full sprint.

"Haru!" Yuki dropped the bread knife onto the table before chasing after the alien. "Wait!"

The door slammed shut and Keito and Urara were left alone in the kitchen. The blue-haired alien looked to the older woman with a look of concern, only to see her standing there, calmly wearing that familiar smile.

"You'll want to keep stirring that broth, Urara. We don't want it to thicken!"

* * *

Yuki quickly turned the corner just in time to see Haru disappear behind his bedroom door as it slammed shut. The red-head ran up to it and grabbed the knob, twisting it to no avail.

"Haru!" He started pounding on the door. "Let me in!"

No response.

The teen growled before he began ramming the door with his shoulder and after only a couple good jumps, the old door was forced open. Yuki stood in the doorway of the empty room. The curtains had been closed and the lights had not been turned on, making the room eerily dark.

It didn't take long to find Haru sitting on the floor in front of his reclining chair. His shirt had been tossed aside, exposing the alien's entire torso. Several boxes of band-aids sat around him, both empty and unopened. Frantically, the blonde tore through the boxes, ripping apart the wrappers and slapping several of the bandages to his already band-aid covered skin. Whimpers and sobs broke his breathing into uneven intervals as thick, heavy teardrops fell from his face.

Slowly, the red-head walked up behind his friend who was still forcing the adhesives onto his chest. He knelt down onto the floor and gently put his hand on Haru's shoulder.

Finally noticing Yuki's presence at his touch, Haru flung himself around and shoved himself back away from the red-head, sending several wrappers into the air.

Yuki's hand flinched at the sudden movement and a wave of pain shot through his chest. Ever so quietly, he began, "Haru. Why did yo-"

"Y-Yuki wasn't supposed to s-see it," Haru almost whined.

"But why, Haru? Why can't I see it?"

"Because you're not supposed to bother your friends." Haru shut his eyes tightly as he attempted to cover the band-aids on his torso with his arms. "H-Haru promised not to bother Yuki again! But Yuki saw them! Haru broke another promise!"

The red-head scooted closer to the small, shaking alien. "Haru, look at me."

He paused. Slowly, the blonde opened his eyes to see a very serious expression on Yuki's face.

"Telling me when you're in pain will never bother me. Asking for help will never bother me. What does bother me is watching you suffer in silence."

Haru's eyes were now wide open in surprise at Yuki's words. "But, Yuki-"

"No 'buts.' Now tell me what's going on."

The blonde froze at the command. How could he even think of revealing everything that he had kept secret for so long now? He had it bottled up so tightly, he didn't think he could ever remove the cap. No, it wasn't something that he could be asked of so easily. Especially not by the teen sitting in front of him. Even more so because of what he had come to realize just that afternoon.

Yuki could practically feel the chaos that was swirling around in Haru's mind. This felt like the longest pause of his life. He knew he had to do something to snap his friend out of those persistent thoughts if he was ever going to get an answer.

So he tried once more. With a soft, reassuring smile on his lips, he reached out and gently took Haru's hand. He could see the alien come back to reality as his violet eyes shifted back and forth between their interlocked fingers and the smile on his own face.

"It's okay, Haru," Yuki gently assured him. "Just tell me. Why all the band-aids?"

Still unsure of what to do, Haru continued to go back and forth between Yuki's face and their hands. It only took a moment, though, to decide. He let out a nervous sigh before speaking. "Keito told me that band-aids make pain go away." Still shaking slightly, Haru brought his other hand up to his chest. "It hurts so bad, Yuki."

Yuki remembered the night he had found the band-aids on Haru's chest. He remembered removing two band-aids to reveal unmarked, uninjured skin. So, thankfully, he knew that Haru's pain was not due to a physical wound. "Why does it hurt, Haru?" he asked, hoping that the answer would be something he had the ability to do something about.

However, Haru shook his head. "Haru can't tell." He wasn't ready to tell Yuki his newly discovered feelings for him. With anything else, Haru would have gladly shared all of his thoughts with him, but to completely lay out the contents of his heart was simply too much. It scared him, perhaps, more than anything in the world, and he wasn't ready to face that fear.

Unfortunately for Yuki, this meant that he had gotten nowhere in helping his friend. He furrowed his brow in frustration and confusion. "Haru. How am I supposed to make it stop hurting if you won't tell me why?"

Some more tears fell from the alien's face as he averted his eyes from Yuki's intent stare. "I'm sorry. I'm not telling."

There was a pause before Yuki breathed a sigh. "Okay, fine. But just let me do one thing."

Haru looked up and tilted his head a bit to the side in confusion. He watched as Yuki let go of his own hand and brought it closer to his chest. Slowly, the red-head began tearing the bandages off of his skin.

He panicked a little, trying to back away from Yuki before the teen spoke again. "Shh," he cooed. "You don't need these band-aids. They aren't going to do you any good. And they're uncomfortable, right?"

Calming down again, Haru stared at Yuki as he continued painlessly pulling the bandages off his torso. Yuki's expression was soft, but he saw bits and pieces of concern lining it, too. The blonde couldn't help the tint of red that sneaked onto his face as a soft smile appeared on his lips.

"And one more should do it."

"No, Yuki." Haru covered the one bandage left on his chest with both of his hands, blocking Yuki from removing it. "I want to keep this one."

'_It will remind me of you._'

Confused, the red-head sighed again. "Alright, I guess." He smiled at the blonde as he stood and helped him up. "We should go back down. The food might be ready by now."

Haru grinned as he grabbed his shirt and threw it back on. "I'm hungry!"

The two walked to the door and opened it, finding Urara standing with his arm up, hand curled in a knocking position. "O-Oh! I was just coming to tell you that supper is ready!"

Haru threw his arms in the air excitedly. "Yay! Yuki, there's food ready, like you said!" The blonde began to run down the stairs as the red-head followed him, leaving Urara standing in the doorway of the bedroom.

A nervous expression took over the blue-haired alien's face as he watched the other two walk into the kitchen from his perch at the top of the stairs.

"Oh dear. This is really bad," was all he could say before following his friends' path into the kitchen to eat with them.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Oh my gosh, I am so sorry this took so long, guys! I started classes last week and before that I had to prepare for the move here! But now I'm settled in and coping with the workload alright, I think... Still, I probably won't get to write as much as I'd like anymore, so updates will be slow and random from now on. ;n;**

**Also, I kind of really want to apologize in advance for this chapter. It moves the story along rather quickly, I think. But I think it might be because I've been feeling rushed with everything around here, but I'll try not to do this next time...**

**But I hope you enjoy it anyway!**

* * *

Haru stood in his room, staring at the mirror with a small smile on his face. He had woken at his usual early hour and had been looking through his wardrobe for an outfit for the day when he noticed the lone bandage on his chest. Remembering the events that took place the day before, he couldn't help but feel a blush crawl across his cheeks. He brought his hands to his chest and covered the small band-aid, basking in this new feeling.

It was similar to the heavy feeling he'd found out to be love, but this was much happier. However, happiness couldn't even touch this feeling. This kind of joy was much more intense. The image of Yuki's soft smile came to his mind and he felt the warmth in his chest grow. It filled his torso and overflowed into his entire being. He had almost dismissed it as just a new kind of happiness, but decided that it was far too similar to love to not be related. Maybe this was what love truly felt like? Was this the feeling that humans strove for in life?

He wanted to know the answers to these questions. However, another part of his mind wanted to push them aside. They were things he could think about later. For now, the alien was just so happy that things were finally getting better. Haru hugged his torso, never wanting to let go of this feeling.

However, his thoughts were interrupted when he heard a sudden knock at his bedroom door. Quickly, he grabbed a random shirt from his closet, pulled it over his head, and made his way to the entrance. Surprised that he wasn't the only one awake, he opened it to find a blue-haired alien fidgeting as he waited.

"Urara! Good morning!" A large grin appeared on Haru's face as he greeted his fellow alien. "You're up early!"

"I-I guess I am." Urara reached for his hair and began to twirl it between his fingers. "C-Can I come into your room f-for a minute?"

Haru blinked curiously. He looked back to his reclining chair. The previous night, before he'd fallen asleep, he'd cleaned up the band-aid wrappers around his chair, leaving no trace of them ever existing. "I suppose it's okay!" The blonde stepped aside. "Come on in!"

Urara walked past Haru and stopped in the middle of the room. He fidgeted nervously and looked around as Haru closed the door behind him. "I-I've never been in your bedroom. It's nice."

The blonde continued to grin. "Thanks!" Haru took a couple steps closer to his friend before he noticed the unusual amount of fidgeting and the anxious look on his face. "Urara doesn't look so good."

The sudden observation made Urara jump a bit. "N-No! I'm just-!" His eyes darted back and forth before he finally heaved a sigh. "I need to a-ask you something, Haru."

Something about Urara's tone made Haru uncomfortable, but he didn't question his friend. He just stared at the blue-haired alien, waiting for whatever question he was going to ask.

"H-have you been feeling alright?" Urara managed to stutter out.

"Alright?" Haru responded, confused. "Sure I have! Why?"

Urara's face contorted into a frustrated expression as he lightly smacked his forehead. "W-Well, no. That's not what I meant to..." He trailed off as he collected himself. Then, after a pause, the bluenette stared intently at the blonde.

"What are your feelings toward Yuki?"

Violet eyes widened at the query. Haru could feel his heart begin to beat harder in his chest and the scarlet beginning to tint his face. The happiness that tugged at his heart was quickly shifting to a nervous wrenching. "Wh-what do you mean?"

Taking a deep breath, Urara dropped his ponytail and looked directly into Haru's eyes with determination. "Have you fallen in love with him?"

The blonde was trembling now. He wasn't quite sure how he was supposed to respond. "H-how did you...?"

Urara observed Haru's reactions before sighing once again. "I was afraid of this." He took on an apologetic expression before continuing. "I'm really sorry, Haru. I'll let you gather your things and say goodbye to everyone befo-"

"G-goodbye? Wh-what are you talking about, Urara?" he interrupted, fearing for the answer he knew was coming.

Unable to look his friend in the eye, Urara kept his view on the floor in front of him as he began to explain. "By our planet's law, you're no longer able to stay on Earth, Haru. Interplanetary love is strictly forbidden." Once again, he began to play with his hair nervously. "Th-That's why I was sent to Earth with you. To monitor you. C-Coco reported that your relationships with some humans was d-dangerously strong. And the emotions you've been experiencing in your human form have been becoming u-unstable." Finally, he gathered the courage to look at Haru. "I-I'm really sorry."

The world started spinning and shaking as Haru felt the tears spring to his eyes. "No..." Both of his hands pulled at his blonde locks. "This isn't happening. I'm just-" He paused.

Suddenly, a smile crossed the alien's lips as the tears finally started streaming down his face. Urara became confused as Haru began giggling. Then his confusion morphed into worry as the giggling turned into loud laughter. "H-Haru?"

When the blonde's laughter had calmed, he gave the blue-haired alien a psychotic grin, though his eyebrows were still furrowed in fear and the tears were still running down his cheeks. "Th-this is just a dream, isn't it? A new nightmare?" Haru took a small step toward Urara, startling the other alien into taking a step back. "Urara's here, so it _has_ to be a nightmare! Urara's in all of Haru's nightmares!"

"I-I am?" Urara questioned, now completely afraid of the alien stepping toward him.

"What happens in this nightmare? Urara sends Haru home so he can kiss Yuki more? I-Is that what Urara wants?"

"K-Kiss?" A small tint of pink dusted the bluenette's cheeks. "I've never kissed anybody before, Haru! Y-your emotions are far more unstable than I'd thought!" He pulled an orange toy water gun out of his pocket and pointed it at the other alien's forehead.

The last thing Haru saw was a purple triangle appear over Urara's head as a stream of water shot into his eyes.

* * *

'_Cold. It's so cold._'

Haru started to shiver as he came to, feeling the chilled water all around himself. From another room he heard beeping and clicking noises. All of it felt so painfully familiar. Literally. He grabbed at his chest as he began to feel the ache of loneliness, an emotion he'd come to know too well since he'd come back to Earth with Urara.

Suddenly, his eyes snapped open as he realized where he was. He was met with the sight of the plain pink interior of his spaceship, lights on the floor giving the whole room a warm yellow glow through the gallons of water.

The blonde panicked slightly as he began moving his hands all across his body. Much to his relief, he was still in his human form. Once he collected himself, he quietly swam across the room and peeked into what he knew as the ship's control room.

Urara floated in a sitting position as the purple halo above his head rotated around and around. In a split second, Haru realized that Urara was steering the ship, causing him to lose control over Haru. But Urara was strong. It wouldn't take the alien long to realize that he had lost Haru in his distraction.

Quickly, Haru rushed to the side exit of the ship. He had to get away. Leaving Earth was out of the question. Now that he knew about all of these feelings he had been experiencing, he knew that leaving would surely tear his heart apart. His fingers flew across the keypad as he entered the code to exit and with a final push of a button, the door flew open to reveal the small island of Enoshima looking even smaller from the sky.

Terror plastered itself onto the blonde's face. How could they be up so high already? What was he supposed to do from here? Fear completely took over as he froze before the doorway and for a long moment, Haru felt hopeless. He couldn't fly in his fish or human form. To even try would be ridiculous. But the small alien knew that his only chance at happiness was on the island that was continuously growing smaller as he moved farther from it. He had no choice now.

Haru swam a small distance forward as he hesitated before the exit. He looked out the door in absolute fear. A fall from here would almost surely kill him. He looked back toward the control room where Urara sat, minding the ship, taking them farther and farther from Earth. The blonde turned back toward the empty sky in front of him and smiled sadly.

'_If I can never see Yuki again, then dying sounds kind of nice, doesn't it?_'

And with a small push, he was falling.

* * *

It had been a quiet morning. Dishes weren't being broken, nobody was whining for attention, and there was no bickering over who was using the bathroom. The only sound came from the clinking of silverware against a plate as Yuki ate his breakfast in silence.

He had awoke to his alarm, gotten dressed, and left his room, expecting to find Haru waiting for him downstairs. However, as he'd come to find out through some investigation, neither Haru or Urara were anywhere to be found. It was strangely unnerving. As much as Yuki had wished for some peace in his life, he had to admit that not knowing the whereabouts of the two aliens worried him.

But as worried as he was, he continued on with his usual morning rituals. After all, it wasn't as if they couldn't take care of themselves.

'_But still..._' he thought as he pulled his backpack over his shoulders. '_It's not like them to leave without me. I can't help but think they've gotten into some kind of trouble._'

The redhead sighed as he closed the door behind him and started down the driveway by himself. It was an odd feeling, walking anywhere alone, but what was even stranger was the simple fact that it was odd to him. He had once been so accustomed to his loneliness that it didn't even phase him. Now, though, he couldn't go without noticing the empty spaces next to him where Haru and Urara would usually walk.

Yuki stuffed his hands in his pockets as he kept walking, his eyes scanning the area for nothing in particular.

'_By now I'm usually scolding Haru for something._' The teen chuckled silently to himself remembering how troublesome the small alien tended to be. The image of Haru's cheeks puffed out, pouting, came to his mind and he couldn't keep his cheeks from reddening slightly as he admitted to himself of the cuteness that came with the expression.

The blush grew deeper as he remembered the soft smile that had adorned Haru's face the previous night in his room. It was a rare expression for the bubbly alien. His grins tended to be wider and full of excitement. The perfect picture of happiness. But that gentle expression affected Yuki in the strangest of ways. A burden fell onto his chest as he thought about it. He could only describe the feeling with one word.

Heavy.

Suddenly, a fuzzy memory came to him. The teen imagined himself sitting across from his grandmother at the kitchen table in one of the many houses he'd lived in. Where, he wasn't sure, but he clearly remembered his grandmother's words.

'_It's the strangest emotion you'll ever experience. You feel so happy that you want to burst! But there's something that pushes it all back into your heart, making your chest feel heavy._'

The memory wasn't so long ago that he couldn't remember it, but it was just long enough to be slightly out of his reach. "What were we talking about then?" he wondered aloud.

Frustratedly, he attempted to remember that conversation as he continued on his usual route toward school, failing miserably to come up with any details. Yuki looked left and right, attempting to perhaps jolt his memory by something around him, only to be stopped dead in his tracks as he spotted something that caused his face to contort into an expression of utter horror.

He felt his stomach drop and churn simultaneously as he began to walk toward it. His chest began to ache as he started to jog. Tears sprung to his eyes as he ran. He couldn't breathe as he broke out into a full sprint.

Doing everything he could to suppress his screams, Yuki bent closer to the sidewalk to pick up a small, unmoving yellow fish.


End file.
